PriorAuthNow, a platform for connecting the healthcare landscape using prior authorization automation, has closed a $3.6 million investment funding round led by NCT Ventures, with participation from Detroit Venture Partners.
 
The company will use the extra money to advance its mission, which is essentially to disrupt the prior authorization industry, valued at about $31 billion. PriorAuthNow intends to achieve this goal by providing powerful and secure software that simplifies how providers connect with insurance carriers; its modus operandi is to make the submission, monitoring and finalization of prior authorizations faster and more economical.
 
"Few words cause more frustration with physicians and their staff than 'prior authorization'," said Joe Anstine, co-founder and CEO of PriorAuthNow, in a statement. "PriorAuthNow's mission is to alleviate this frustration by simplifying the prior authorization process. By removing the inefficiencies and the fragmented experience of the current process, we're able to save both providers and individuals time and money."
 
On average, a single provider spends 20 hours per week and $65,000 per year on PAs, according to information provided by the company. Forty percent of these PAs are abandoned due to complex approval policies.
 
Funds raised from this investment round will be used to expand the PriorAuthNow team and expedite the rollout of the company’s platform to hospital systems across the US.
 
"We look for innovative companies that are addressing real pain points in the market," said Michael Butler, partner at NCT Ventures, in a statement. "We're excited to bring this platform to market and look forward to helping the company grow."
 
Jared Stasik, partner at DVP, said in a statement that PriorAuthNow is a “quantum leap forward” in the way providers manage prior authorizations. “We look forward to supporting them as they solve this problem for hospital systems around the nation,” he said.